Policy
By Bethany Blankley (The Central Square)
As Texas continues to put up a fight at major illegal crossing points on its border with Mexico, illegal entries have increased in Arizona, California and New Mexico, where similar policies are not being implemented, Texas officials say.
Through Governor Greg Abbott’s border security mission, Operation Lone Star, National Guard soldiers have been working to deter illegal entry and Texas Department of Public Safety officers have focused on interdiction. Where illegal entries occur, Texas DPS officers and other law enforcement officers have been arresting illegal alien nationals for committing trespassing or other potentially violating state crimes.
The goal is to block illegal entry and ensure consequences for those who manage to get through, Abbott said, backed by the state legislature.
“Illegal entry into Texas has consequences,” said border czar Mike Banks, which is why Mexican cartels and transnational criminal organizations are redirecting smuggling operations to Arizona, California and New Mexico, he added, pointing to federal data.
Under Banks’ direction, Texas has implemented a “PDI strategy” to position, deter and intercept, he said. explained to the Center Square. “If you look at the number of illegal border crossings today, Texas accounts for 30% of them. The remaining 70% crosses through Arizona, California and New Mexico. Because? Because they are not putting up the resistance that Texas offers.”
The border between the United States and Mexico is 1,954 miles long. Texas, which shares the longest border with Mexico at 1,254 miles, or 64% of the total, has historically had the highest number of illegal border crossings.
Texas also has the most CBP sectors of any state in the country with five. California and Arizona have two each. In New Mexico, only about 40 percent of illegal entries into the El Paso sector of West Texas come from New Mexico, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. An unknown number of fugitives are illegally entering New Mexico, which has significantly fewer agents in the field due to several factors, officials said.
Gotways, those who intentionally enter illegally to avoid capture, are now estimated to number more than two million nationwide as of January 2021, The Center Square has reported.
When broken down over the past few months, illegal entries increased in California and Arizona and decreased significantly in Texas, according to CBP data. The data refers only to Border Patrol apprehensions and excludes Office of Field Operations and leak data.
In Arizona, in November 2023, Border Patrol agents in the Tucson sector reported 64,637 arrests of people who crossed the border illegally; in the Yuma sector, 6,159. In December 2023, arrests increased to 80,184 in Tucson and 7,144 in Yuma. Last month, arrests fell to 50,565 in Tucson and 3,735 in Yuma, according to the data.
In the winter months, illegal entries generally decrease, although they have been historically high in recent years compared to previous administrations.
In California, in November 2023, Border Patrol agents in the San Diego sector apprehended 31,164 people illegally crossing the border; in the El Centro sector, 1,787. In December 2023, arrests increased to 34,372 in San Diego and 2,222 in El Centro. In January, they fell to 24,709 and 1,127, respectively.
In Texas, in November 2023, Border Patrol agents detained 22,405 people illegally crossing the border in the El Paso sector (with 40% coming from New Mexico, an estimated 8,960), 427 in the Big Bend, 42,951 in Del Rio, 2,810 in Laredo, and 18,773 in the Rio Grande Valley.
In December 2023, three of the five Texas sectors experienced declines. El Paso and Del Rio saw increases. Agents in El Paso detained 33,966 people illegally crossing the border (an estimated 13,586 in New Mexico) and in Del Rio, 71,048. Big Bend fell to 322 arrests, Laredo to 2,267 and the Rio Grande Valley to 18,210.
Arrests decreased further statewide last month after Abbott closed an area in Eagle Pass. In El Paso, more than 400 miles west of Eagle Pass, arrests were cut in half; in the Del Rio and Rio Grande Valley sectors, they fell by about a third, according to the data.
Last month, 17,515 illegal border crossers were arrested in El Paso (approximately 7,006 in New Mexico), 324 in Big Bend, 16,712 in Del Rio, 2,193 in Laredo and 7,340 in the Rio Grande Valley.
Comparing the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 to the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, arrests increased nearly 74% in the San Diego sector of California and 182% in the Tucson sector of Arizona.
Arrests in all sectors of Texas have decreased compared to the same period even though arrests in fiscal year 2024 nationwide reached highest recorded.
From Q1 FY23 to Q1 FY24, arrests in the El Paso sector were reduced by more than 50%; in Big Bend by almost 70%; in Laredo by 40%, in the Rio Grande Valley by 23% and in Del Río by 1%.
“As Texas gains control of an area,” Banks said, “we will hold that area and expand it. We will win, maintain, expand. “We are going to cut off illegal entry into the state of Texas.”
Distributed with permission from The Center Square.
